How a Nicolas Cage Viral Video Led to His Next Film

Nicolas Cage recounts his mixed emotions at seeing a video montage of his biggest acting moments and channeled that into his new film Dream Scenario.

A viral video of Nicolas Cage helped push him towards his latest project.

As reported by Entertainment Weekly, Cage discussed his unique experience with online fame at the Toronto International Film Festival. "What happened to me, I think I might've been the first actor who woke up one morning and somebody had put a montage of me, meltdown moments, cherry-picking from different movies, and then put it online," he said. "I think it was called 'Nicolas Cage Losing His Sh*t.' It went viral overnight around the world, I kept going, 'What is happening to me?'"

The video, put together by editor Harry Hanrahan, collects some of Cage's biggest acting performances in movies like Vampire's Kiss, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans and The Wicker Man. It was released in 2013 and currently boasts over 1 million views on YouTube. "It kept exponentially compounding on itself and getting bigger," Cage continued. "Nothing I could do could stop it. I couldn't stop it legally, I couldn't stop it any way. I sat there and it started going to this meme-ification, with Photoshopping.... I said, well, I've got to put this somewhere, and then I read Dream Scenario and I said, yes, now I can turn this lead into a little bit of gold."

Written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli, Dream Scenario follows an aging college professor played by Cage (who also co-produced the film) who achieves literal overnight fame when people begin recognizing him from their dreams, but soon learns the dark side of being known by everyone. Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Dylan Gelula, Dylan Baker and Kate Berlant co-star. Dream Scenario is also produced by Ari Aster through his company, Square Peg, and distributed by A24. It is expected to release in theaters on November 10.

Nicolas Cage Attended the Dream Scenario Premiere

Despite the current strikes that have halted production in the entertainment industry, Cage was allowed to promote Dream Scenario at TIFF thanks to A24 not being part of the AMPTP and complying with WGA and SAG-AFTRA demands. The studio's upcoming projects include Priscilla, Sofia Coppola's biopic on Priscilla Presley; The Iron Claw, a biopic on the Von Erich family of professional wrestlers; and Dicks: The Musical, an adaptation of the Broadway show F***ing Identical Twins.